Paul Heyman On What He’d Do If He Ran WWE, His Greatest ECW Creation, Studio 54 & More (Audio)

Brian Soscia of Mix 106.1 Philadelphia interviewed Paul Heyman. Heyman reveals his first memory as a fan, who inspired his promo work, his greatest ECW creation, what he would do if he ran the WWE, how he feels about ECW Arena no longer hosting wrestling, the time he spent working in the world famous New York nightclub Studio 54 and more. You can listen to the audio from the interview below.

If Paul Heyman ran WWE, what would he do differently: “I’d fire the McMahons immediately.”

What was it he first saw in CM Punk: “How could you look at CM Punk and not think that he has the it factor? I don’t think I’m any great visionary or genius because I saw something in CM Punk, I think everyone else is a stupid schmuck for not seeing it in CM Punk. They’re blind. I mean truly, in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king and if you can’t spot that CM Punk is magic from the moment he walks in the door then you’re reading a playbook from an antiquated writer.”

His first wrestling memory: “As a fan my first memory was Argentina Apollo and Luis Martinez against the Love Brothers in Eddie Einhorn’s IWA in 1975.”

What drew him into wrestling: “The very next week [following the Apollo and Martinez vs. Love Brothers match] they were replaced on television by Vince McMahon’s father’s television show and I saw Superstar Billy Graham do one interview and I was blown away by it. I realized that that man does not work for a living. I said I don’t want to work for a living either. I want to talk s*** on TV like Superstar Billy Graham. That’s what I get to do for a living now.”

Where he gained his promo ability from: “My father was a personal injury attorney in the Bronx. I can bulls*** with the best of them.”

Who or what his greatest ECW creation was: “The ECW audience itself. The audience was the biggest star. We played to them and for a reason. They were the greatest performers we had. I mean, who else would have thought about actually chanting the name of the promotion? We didn’t come up with that. They did. Who else thought of then screaming out the name of the company and literally fighting our battles for us? We didn’t ask them to do it. They volunteered to. We didn’t get on pay per view on our own merits. We got on pay per view because the audience got us on. The greatest creation of ECW was the ECW audience.”